Indeed some quarterbacks are quite stirred up at this time of the season. Here is a glimpse of some of the hustle and bustle this weekend among a few of our favorite QBs.

Rookie QB Tim Tebow will make his first start today against Oakland. Starter Kyle Orton has bruised ribs, so Tebow will head the Denver offense and try to turn around the 3-10 Broncos. For Tebow, this opportunity is a reason to feel quite jolly this holiday season!

Donovan McNabb feels like he just got a visit from the Grinch. Benched by Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan, McNabb has not only been told he is the 2nd string QB behind Rex Grossman, but that for the remaining two games he will be 3rd string. If there was ever a “Grinch Who Stole Christmas” in the NFL, it is Shanahan and his Bah, Humbug disrespect he has shown the veteran QB.

For Brett Favre, his streak of consecutive starts is over. Last week his 297 straight starts (321, if playoffs are included) ended because of his sprained shoulder. Once again he will miss this weekend’s game and it seems as though this may be his final year in the NFL.

Another QB is also having a “Blue Christmas”. Aaron Rogers is sitting out today’s game due to injury. Like Favre, his streak as a starter is over. He had started every game since taking over from Favre early in 2008.

Peyton Manning finds himself under pressure to keep the Colts’ playoff hopes alive. If the Colts lose to the Jaguars, Jacksonville will clinch the AFC South. The Colts would be at 7-7 and have to hope other teams lose in order to have any shot at the playoffs. Peyton’s uncharacteristic streak of interceptions seems to have ended last week against the Titans. Will he be able to maintain that momentum and carry the Colts to the playoffs?

In this last weekend before Christmas, these quarterbacks find themselves in a season of transition. As the playoffs approach, will they overcome their challenges and be able to deliver a great gift to their teams? Stay tuned…the drama has just begun!

It is December 1st. How did that happen?!! There’s a lot to do before the holidays are suddenly upon us. Over the next few weeks, look for our favorite shopping, cooking and other helpful tips that will help you glide through the holiday season with ease. As always, we also keep you updated with the latest gridiron news!

Looking for a great holiday gift for that football fan on your list? Jerseys are a perfect choice and with so many retailers offering them, it is easy to find a great deal. NFL.com recently released its list of the top 25 selling NFL jerseys. The sales data is for the period of April 1st through October 31st.

These past few weeks have undoubtedly changed that list, as Michael Vick jersey sales have skyrocketed. This past summer, his jersey sales were not even on the top 100 list. His phenomenal performances (13 TDs, 1 interception and a 106 QB rating) have helped him lead the Eagles to 1st place in the NFC East, tied with the NY Giants. With his new fan base behind him buying his #7 jersey, it now appears Vick will be among the top 25 when new sales figures are released.

Other interesting players on the list are the two rookies. Sam Bradford may have been the #1 draft pick, but Tim Tebow’s jersey is the #1 seller, despite the fact that he is not even the starter for the Broncos! If Tebow’s jersey remains #1, it will be the first time a rookie has ever led NFL jersey sales.

Who is not on the list? Steeler QB Ben Roethlisberger’s popularity apparently declined due to the allegations of sexual assault. His jersey is not among the top 25 sellers. Prior to this, he had been on the list every year since his rookie season six years ago.

The Cowboys have three players on the top 25 list (Miles Austin, Tony Romo and Jason Witten), leading all other NFL teams. It is too bad jersey sales do not have any bearing on how a team is performing. The Cowboys could use any help they could get!

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Today is Election Day and we at Gridironglamourgirl have decided to cast our vote. No, we are not going to delve into politics because quite frankly we’ve had our fill from all parties of late. Instead, we want to cast our vote for this year’s Heisman Trophy winner!

If the Heisman Trophy could be awarded at this point in the college football season, Cam Newton should be the hands down recipient. Newton is the Auburn University quarterback who has been tearing up the record books this year. He has already broken the SEC record for rushing yards in a single season by a quarterback and there are plenty more games to play.

Auburn is 9-0 and ranked 2nd (BCS standings) in the nation. Much of their success is due to Newton. Want proof? He’s RUSHED for 1100 yards, scoring 14 touchdowns. He’s PASSED for 1500 yards, scoring 15 touchdowns. He also CAUGHT a TD pass on Saturday against Ole Miss, giving him a grand total of 30 TOUCHDOWNS this season!

Where did this junior phenom come from? Originally from Georgia, Cam was recruited by the University of Florida, where, as a freshman, he would serve as a backup for QB Tim Tebow during the 2007 season. He redshirted his 2008 season due to an injury. That November he was arrested for burglary and obstruction of justice, when he was found to be in possession of a stolen laptop. Newton entered a pre-trial intervention program designed for first offenders. He completed the program, followed the court ordered rules and all charges were eventually dropped.

After the arrest, in January 2009, Newton decided to make a new start. Tim Tebow had just announced he would return for his senior season. That factor, along with his legal issues, prompted Newton to transfer to Blinn College, where he led the team to a Junior College National Championship. After that season, he was highly recruited once again. On New Year’s Eve 2009, Newton announced he would play for the Auburn Tigers.

There are some in the media who are questioning whether Newton is deserving of the Heisman, given his legal troubles in 2008. The Heisman is an award that embodies “excellence with integrity” and some critics are using these words as a way to claim that Newton may not be fitting of such a prestigious honor.

These same critics fail to point out another important component of the Heisman Trophy Mission Statement that says, “winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard work”. Cam Newton could have faded into the sunset after his legal troubles. Instead, he used diligence, perseverance and hard work, the very qualities that exemplify the Heisman, to turn his life around.

Who among us would want to be held accountable for all of our actions in college? Sure, most of us were not arrested on felony charges, but Newton has indeed worked hard to redeem himself. It seems to us that he can serve as a role model to other young people who have made a wrong choice or two along the way. The critics who would like to judge this young man should seriously think about the message they are sending if they fail to acknowledge that atonement for mistakes is possible.

So, on this Election Day, we vote for Cam Newton as this year’s Heisman Trophy winner. His on the field stats cannot be denied. But, almost as important, his hard work and determination to overcome what could have been a life-altering mistake, should serve as an example to all of us.

Oh, and by the way, voting in the real election is truly an honor and a privilege. Pay tribute to those in uniform and get out and vote today!

This past August I joined a fantasy football league. After years of watching from the sideline and not quite comprehending how fantasy football actually works, I decided to strap on a helmet and give it a try. Little did I know that I would actually need that helmet! This is serious game play and is definitely not for the weak-hearted.

Our league has twelve teams, made up of ten college guys and just two girls. Having never been part of a fantasy league, I scoured online fantasy draft pick information from all the leading “experts”. On my desk sits an entire folder devoted to my pre-season research, along with every fantasy football draft magazine I could lay my hands on this summer. My laptop has files of assembled information, including spreadsheets with categories like PPR (Points per Reception), rankings by position and bye weeks. Suddenly the letters SOS no longer meant an emergency cry for help, but something much more critical – Strength of Schedule.

Next came the dilemma of naming my team. Did I want a fierce, intimidating name to scare the opposition into retreat? Or a funny name that made my team the envy of those who wished they could be so clever? Searching the web, I found a huge variety of “female” fantasy football names, many of which were just too crude to consider. I wanted a name to represent me, yet have a football connection. Finally, an epiphany! My team would be called The Blonde Side. It would pay tribute to one of my favorite football movies of all time, “The Blind Side”, while allowing me to make my team stand out from my male competition. Oh, and it also embodied my natural (ahem) blonde hair color.

On draft day, we all assembled in the team manager’s tiny college apartment. One of the guys had graduated the previous spring and so “attended” the draft through Skype. We chose ESPN to host our league. I was assigned the next to last pick, but was undaunted since I felt I had a great strategy in place. I had my list of desired players and was certain I would be able to get at least some of them.

From research and talking to friends who had played in fantasy leagues for years, I decided to load up on running backs and wide receivers in the early rounds and not even think about my quarterback to the later rounds. As a HUGE Peyton Manning fan, I desperately wanted him as my first pick, but decided to put my emotions aside and allow my diligently prepared plan of attack to play out. Other favorites, like T.O. and Ladainian Tomlinson would have to wait as well. Instead, I would listen to the expert advice I had gathered and ignore the gut instincts that were telling me to make completely different choices.

As the draft began, I was shocked at how quickly the guys made their picks. By the time it was my turn, the top ranked player remaining on my list was RB Frank Gore from the San Francisco 49er’s and I quickly grabbed him. Next, I chose WR Reggie Wayne of the Colts and felt pretty secure about my choices. But by the time the third round came around, my list of prospects had dwindled and I was suddenly scrambling to make a pick. I scoured my spreadsheets, notes and brain for my next pick as the 2 minute draft clock ticked down. Ochocinco, I shouted out, when I realized T.O. had already been snagged.

The rest of the draft is a blur as I frantically tried to choose my next player in round after round. The other players, more seasoned and experienced, seemed to glide through their picks with ease. Why did I feel so incompetent and disorganized? After all, I had books and spreadsheets and files of information that should have made draft day a breeze!

By the end of the draft, my roster was complete – a complete mess, that is. I had two players from my original list of prospects and the rest was a jumble of players I had haphazardly thrown together. How did this happen? I honestly am not sure, but part of my problem was that I ignored my women’s intuition AND fell victim to peer pressure!

So what did I learn from my draft day disaster? Well, lots of things actually.

First, do your research. It is important to know who the top prospects are and to understand how your league’s scoring system works.

Make sure you have information on the less known players. Despite my spreadsheets, I was not as prepared as I should have been in this area and ended up making choices on players whom I barely had any knowledge about.

Don’t be intimidated by the boys. I think of myself as a pretty independent person, with strong opinions, yet time after time was swayed into picking a player based on what others were saying at the moment. I was a rookie and assumed the veterans knew more than me.

Don’t drink too much alcohol during the draft! Depending on how your league organizes draft day, it can end up being a party atmosphere. As prepared and serious as I started out, I must confess that one too many Jager Bomb’s may have wreaked havoc on my roster.

Most importantly, listen to your gut instinct! As women, we all know that inner voice that whispers (and sometimes shouts) out to us. I don’t care what anyone says, that little voice is right 9 times out of 10!

So that pretty much sums up my draft day disaster. As for the season thus far? Well, let’s just say that there have been a few fumbles and missed tackles along the way. In the next few months, I will share The Blonde Side’s victories and defeats in hopes of helping other ladies in their future fantasy football endeavors. So like Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford, I view this season as a rookie learning experience. Hopefully next season will bring far less thrown interceptions and better play calling ability that will allow me to dominate my male competition!